Follow Nghe An farmers 'examining' crabs after a day of peak sunshine

During the day, the weather is hot and sunny, the water in the fields is hot, and the crabs hide in their holes. When night falls, the crabs crawl out of their holes to look for food, which is also the time when farmers in many places in the areaNghe Anput aside housework, put on flashlights to go crab hunting. Therefore, at night, the rice fields of Yen Thanh, Do Luong, Dien Chau districts... are shimmering with flashlights from near and far. Not only adults, but children also go crab hunting.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai in hamlet 4, Bac Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) is a person who specializes in catching crabs at night. She said that every night, after finishing dinner, both mother and daughter take flashlights to the fields to catch crabs.field crabsgo home to sell. Go from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm and come back to sell to traders that same night.

"During the hot sunny day, the crabs do not come out of their burrows, so at night they crawl out into the fields to look for food. The flashlights are fully charged and very bright, so it is easy to detect the crabs crawling under the fields. Every night, the mother and daughter catch 2 - 2.5 kg of crabs. At this time, the crabs are sold for 100,000 VND/kg, earning over 200,000 VND," Ms. Hai shared.

Freshwater crabs just caught. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Ms. Doan Thi Hoa in Dong Ban hamlet, Lang Thanh commune said that since the rice fields have been harvested, there have been countless crabs, and she can catch 2 kg of crabs in one session. But the easiest time to catch them is at night, so she can do her housework during the day and go out for a few hours at night to get 2 kg of crabs, which she can sell for money right away. Because there are many crabs in the fields and they can be sold for money, most of the workers are at home, including children in the hamlet, inviting each other to go catch them to earn extra income.

The tools people use to catch crabs are very simple, just a flashlight that costs over 100,000 VND, a pair of boots and a plastic bucket or plastic bag to hold the crabs. People said that to prevent snake bites, those who go crab hunting at night, in addition to investing in a flashlight with high brightness, must also wear knee-high boots.

Crab catching is a source of income for some farmers. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Around 9pm, people who go crab hunting at night gather to sell crabs.traders. At the crab purchasing points on the main roads in Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Do Luong districts... there are always crowds of people, in addition to adults there are also children bringing crabs to sell. Whoever comes first sells first, the crabs are poured into a large basin, the traders remove the too small and dead ones, the rest are weighed, and the amount is paid immediately.

A crab purchasing point on National Highway 7B, through Yen Thanh district. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, a crab trader on National Highway 7B, passing through Nam Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) said: This year, due to the impact ofCovid-19 epidemicshould reduce price

In previous years, the price of crabs purchased on the spot during this summer was 120,000 VND/kg, but this time it is only 90,000 - 100,000 VND/kg. All the crabs, after being carefully packaged, are sent by bus to Hanoi for consumption that same night. Every night, Mr. Tan buys nearly 200 kg of crabs.

Field crabs are currently priced at 90,000 - 100,000 VND/kg, lower than the same period last year. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Farmers consider field crabs as a "heavenly gift", so there are people who work during the day and go to the fields at night to earn extra income to cover their living expenses. There are no statistics on how many tons of field crabs Nghe An farmers catch each day, but it can be said that a large number of farming families have a significant source of income from field crabs during this difficult time due to the complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic.